The Hidden Year
by Leah Isabella Reed
Summary: Mia and Beth Anderson are demigods and Muggle-borns. Mia is eleven and Beth is seventeen. Mia is entering Hogwarts just in time to be questioned by the Muggle-Born Registration Committee, be haunted by Dementors, and live in a school that is under You-Know-Who's thumb. But there is another secret that Mia and her sister have kept, so dark that they would be banished forever.
1. Prolouge

I wish I could tell you that I'm a perfectly normal kid. I'd love to tell you that I'm even an ordinary wizard. But then I'd be lying to you, and no matter what happens, I do _not_ lie. Compared to me, Harry Potter is positively _boring._ I mean, I'm not ugly or anything. And it isn't something I did that makes me an outcast. It's my parents.

My dad is not a wizard. My sister and I are both Muggle-Borns.

My mom is Athena. She gave birth to my sister, Beth, on December 29th, nearly eighteen years ago. Then she left. But she came back overeleven years later and gave birth to me on April 15th.

We're both Half-Bloods. We're both Muggle-Borns. And we're not safe.

Not ever.


	2. Chapter 1: The News

When I was five years old, Beth started Hogwarts the same year that I started kindergarten at Forest Pine Elementary. My dad told me that Beth didn't like the school she was supposed to go to, so she went to a school far away. We both knew it was Beth's decision, even though I didn't learn about magic until I was eight. Beth visited over the summer and on Christmas and Easter break. It wasn't a perfect situation, especially with Mom on Mount Olympus, but we were happy. I actually found out about our mom when I was five, although I wasn't told _how_ I was born until I was ten. I literally came out of my mom's head, just as she came out of her father's. Gross! I came home from school more than once saying that Greek gods weren't real, but I came around. I was ecstatic when I got my letter. Beth drove me into Diagon Alley-she had her Muggle driver's licence by then-and personally helped my find my books and my wand. Our mom had somehow left us some galleons at Gringotts. My wand is oak with a unicorn core, eight inches. Most of the shops were in ruins, but Beth managed to get about a dozen different wands each from about a dozen different wand-makers by mail. I was lucky to get any wand at all, much less one that "chose me" by random luck.

The day after I got my wand, my sister and I get a notice in the mail. It reads:

 _Dear Beth and Amelia Ross,_

 _It has come to the Ministry's attention that you have no known wizarding ancestry. A recent study shows that any person without magical heritage cannot have acquired magical ability. This suggests that so-called "Muggle-Borns" have stolen magic. Therefore, all said "Muggle-borns" must meet with a member of the Muggle-born Registration Committee to determine whether they have any magical ability. If so-called "Muggle-borns" do not show signs of wizarding parentage, they will be stripped of their stolen wands._

 _Your hearing date and time is:_

 _August 19 at 10:30 AM. A ministry official will direct you to the correct room._

 _Best wishes,_

 _Malfalda Hopkirk._

"Best wishes?" I quote angrily. "Stolen magic? How could we possibly-"

"We have to do this," Beth says quietly. "We can convince them. But the meeting is tomorrow, and it's almost 10:00. You should get to bed."

I sleep horribly that night. Demigods never have good dreams, but I dream of You-Know-Who and Cyclopes all night. These are _not_ ordinary nightmares.

I pray to Athena for guidance, hoping that she will help her daughters think of a plan.


	3. Chapter 2: The Questioning

I sleep until 8:00. Fortunately, I don't take long to get ready in the morning. Once I'm ready, Beth decides to drive us to the Ministry. She figures that they won't want us using magic. It only half an hour. We enter the building at 10:15. A man whose nametag reads "Chirant" shows us to a waiting room. We arrive just in time. "Anderson, Amelia!" a voice calls. I ignore it. I adamantly refuse to answer to "Amelia." I wait. "Anderson, Amelia!" the same sugary voice shouts. I hear someone heave a sigh. "Anderson, _Mia_?" I walk through a door. Beth waves, looking stressed. I'm nervous, too. Will I be expelled? Will they take away my wand? I hope not.

I remember what Beth told me in the car-be timid and polite. If she offers me a drink, it's probably truth potion, so only pretend to drink it and dump it on the ground when I'm done, because lying will be the only way to not be sent to Azkaban. I walk in.

The first thing I notice is that it's frigid. I feel really depressed and hopeless, and I can remember clearly some really bad memories-my first monster attack, the time I got a concussion trying to play softball-

Then I see the dementors gliding. I wonder if I could produce a Patronus. Beth told me the incantation, but I'm not even in school yet. I know that the woman dressed in pink will let me try. I'm only eleven, and she'll never believe I can do any magic.

"Sit down, _Mia_." The woman looks like a toad, now that I think about it-a toad dressed in pink. I sit in a hard wooden chair. The woman sits in a pink, comfortable-looking armchair. "Now please describey your wand. Be honest, and maybe you won't be sent to Azkaban."

"Actually," I mumble, "can I try to...the Dementors…" I trail off nervously.

"The woman looks at me in surprise. "Do you mean to say that you wish to attempt a Patronus charm? Why, I ordinarily wouldn't allow it, but the Dementors have a greater effect on the younger ones…"

It is obvious that she thinks I could never produce a picture of us in 1 million years well I'll prove her wrong! Keeping this in mind I yell, "Expecto Patronum!" Almost instantly a silver dolphin bursts out and I feel as though a weight has been lifted off of my chest.

"Well, then," she says to me, sounding disappointed. "Let us continue. Please, have a glass of water. Producing a Patronus can be tiring." She levitates a glass from a nearby table. Veritaserum, it had to be. So I only pretended to drink. "Now please describe your wand."

"Cherry and unicorn tail hair, twelve inches." I do my best to make it sound like I'm not even thinking about it, the words are just coming out.

"And could you name the witch or wizard from whom you stole it?"  
I gasp. "I swear to you, this wand was sent to me by owl this summer, among other wands, and of those, this is the one that chose me. You see," I add,"Ollivander had already gone out of business by then, so my sister wrote to some foreign wandmakers."

The woman nods. "And your parents? Your father is a Muggle, and your mother ran away shortly after you were born."

"I can't say for my immediate family," I tell her, "But there is a legend that my great-great-great-great-grandfather was burned at the stake at the age of twenty-one, but he hadn't yet married. This was in Ireland, but there is really only one likely explanation for how we got to America."

"America? We are in Britain!"  
"Yes, we are. But my sister and I lived in America with our father. We stayed there when she went to Hogwarts, because although there were many choices locally and we'd heard such great things about Hogwarts, so my sister wrote to Hogwarts and an American school. And now, our father is still there. As for my mother-well, we live in Scranton, and she said something about the Empire State Building, which is in New York."

She nods. "All right then, Mia, you are"- she sighs heavily, clearly disappointed that I most likely have wizarding blood-"Free to go, as is your sister."

"Thank you!" I tell her happily as I dash out the door, just as the woman calls "Austin, Joseph!" and a boy runs in.

"Did you tell her?" asks Beth.

"I fed her some crap about a great-great-great-great-grandfather. She doesn't suspect a thing."

"Good. Let's go then." And we turn and leave.

I can only worry about what will happen on the Hogwarts Express.

Hopefully no clever Slytherins will see me through.

Because Beth and I really _are_ Muggle-borns.

Mudbloods.


	4. Chapter 3: Demigod Dreams

Demigod dreams are never pleasant, and tonight is no exception. I watch helplessly as two boys arrive in a creepy graveyard. One boy, who looks to be about seventeen, gets hit by a green light and dies. The Avada Kedavra, of course. The other, who might be fourteen, is tied to a tombstone. I can't see him very well, but he has glasses and a scar shaped like a lightning bolt. I can't hear anything, it's all kind of fuzzy.

A rat-like man who must have killed the older boy takes a bone from the ground and puts it in a huge cauldron that also has something-a baby?-in it. Then he takes a dagger and takes blood from the Lightning-scar boy and adds that. Finally he cuts off his hand.

A man with white skin and no nostrils-

No. It can't be. They told me he was dead, that he was gone. Please, please, let it be some other evil guy. Please. Let him drown, let it have gone wrong. I thought we were safe. Please, let us be safe.

I feel exactly what the boy feels as Lord Voldemort rises again.

The dream ends. How could Beth have kept this from me? The dream actually happened years ago, but I never knew about this...gods, Voldemort. To all you demigods out there: pray as hard as you can that you aren't also a wizard. He'll find you. He'll find people like me, too. There are only twenty-five people in the world that are demigods _and_ wizards _and_ Elements. He killed Amber and I stopped him before he could do worse. Now he's out to get me. Oh, gods, I've said too much, you don't need to know about all this.

"How could you have kept this from me?" I demand of my sister the second I get downstairs.

Beth looks at me. She knows I mean Voldemort. "Mia, there was no other choice. If you knew you'd be hysterical. You wouldn't leave the house. You've got to understand."

I sigh. My sister is right. "Fine then. But who's the boy with the lightning scar?"

Beth launches into an entire story about Harry Potter that takes ten minutes to finish. He's basically her hero. I walk upstairs.

Beth is right-I don't leave the house until it's time to leave for Hogwarts. I only sleep when Beth is beside me, standing guard. Even she doesn't know about me being an Element, she understands that I can't tell her what it is that make me fear Voldemort.

The days pass all too quickly. I have too many secrets too keep, too much weight on my shoulders.

Before I know it, it's September 1st.

Doomsday.

 ** _More about Elements later. I'm not a spoiler! You'll see what Mia means in a few chapters._**


	5. Chapter 4: My First Slytherin

Beth can Apparate now, but she drives us to King's Cross. I check my watch-10:55 on the dot. We hurry through the barriers. Well, Beth hurries. I carefully walk through and almost get seen.

Beth heads into a compartment with Tiana, her best friend. I stumble into a compartment with three third-years. "C-c-can I sit here?" I ask. I cross my fingers that they're not Slytherins.

"Sure," says a girl with long blond pulled back in a ponytail. "By the way, my name is Caroline. This is Sadie and David." Caroline gestured to a girl on her right and a boy on her left. "We're in Gryffindor."

Just then a girl my age bursts in, looking close to tears.

"Slytherins?" Sadie asks kindly. The girl nods.

"Pansy Parkinson and her gang?" asks David. She nods again.

"They're bitches, all of them," she moans. "My name is Juliana."

"I'm Mia," I tell her. "You must be a first-year, too."

Juliana nods. Then David starts a conversation about Ollivander's disappearance. "We were lucky enough to get wands from him. How did you get yours?"

I tell him about the twenty-something wands I got. As it turns out, Juliana got her grandmother's wand and it works pretty well. Pretty soon, we're all talking and laughing like we've known each other for years. I don't have anything to fear. I take comfort in knowing that these newfound friends have my back.

I don't have any wizarding money, but the witch passing around the treats-David tells us that she would have quit if not for her love of children-takes pity on me and secretly passes me a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

All too soon, we arrive at Hogwarts. Juliana and I tentatively tiptoe to the lake. A grim-looking half-giant named Hagrid leads us to rowboats just big enough for three. Juliana and I sit with a boy who looks like a just plain bad person. I know it's kind of harsh, but I can see it in his eyes.

"You're a filthy little Mudblood," he said right off the bat. "Clever, I'll give you that, but a Mudblood."

I look right in his eyes. "Clever enough to fool Dolores Umbridge?" I ask innocently. "I went to the trial, and my sister and I were cleared. By the way, my name is Mia, thanks for asking."

"Bruce Lewis. Pureblood. And you"-he turned to Juliana-"come from a family of blood traitors if I've ever seen one. Disgrace to wizards."

"And so what if she is?" I shout. "Who cares about where your ancestors came from? It's not even close to as important as whether you're kind or compassionate or honest. So this"-I spit on the ground-"is what I think about blood status-and _you._ "

Juliana gasps. Bruce blinks twice. "You've chosen the wrong person to be your enemy, _Amelia_! You will rue the day-"

"Oh, shut up," I tell him. Gods, why do I have to be stuck with this idiot?

Someone claps. Another person whistles. Bruce glares at me. His expression is murderous.

Then the boats pull in. A grim-looking Professor McGonagall tells us,

"Welcome to Hogwarts. You will now be Sorted into your Houses. Good luck."

We enter the Great Hall. The legendary Sorting Hat has no song to sing.

That's how I know that we're really in trouble.

 _ **Just a heads-up: I will not be posting for at least a few weeks as I am visiting family in England and will be there for a while. Sorry!**_


	6. Chapter 5: The Sorting Hat

"Adams, Ronaldo!" Professor McGonagall calls. The Sorting Hat's rip opens and out comes the single, fateful word:

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

I barely hear my name called as I step up and all too soon the hat is upon my head.

 _Well, well, what have we here?_ the Sorting Hat muses. _A Muggle-Born, a demigod,_ and _an Element. Kind, brave, clever...but which one? Which House?_

 _It's your choice, isn't it?_ I think.

To my surprise, the hat answers. _Ah, you are right. Well then, you must be…_

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The whole Gryffindor table erupts in cheers, as do most of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Slytherin is mostly silent except for a little bit of polite applause.

I take a seat across from Caroline, David, and Sadie and watch everyone else. Bruce is a Slytherin, obviously. Juliana is a Gryffindor. She sits down next to me, looking very surprised. "Congratulations," I tell her.

Juliana nods. "Thanks. I'm surprised. I mean, I'm always so scared-you didn't see me when my neighbor tried to-well, it's not important."

"Someone I know once told me that bravery doesn't mean not being afraid. It means going on through your fear," I tell her.

"Really? Who?"

"I hope for your sake you don't know him," I say solemnly. Juliana looks at me curiously but doesn't ask.

Finally, after Atticus Zelter is made a Ravenclaw, the food appears in front of us. I take some potatoes and some kind of pie. I'm a little bit homesick for regular old pizza, which Dad and I had every Thursday night. Once just about everyone is finished, a man gets up, presumably to make a speech.

A woman with a really nasty smile that reminds me of a Cyclops I once met taps her glass with a fork.

"Welcome to Hogwarts." His voice has no emotion whatsoever. All the Slytherins clap. "I trust that this will be a year full of learning for all of you. Prefects, please lead your first-year students to the common room." He sits back down.

Juliana and I stand up and follow two students who must be about fifteen to our common room. I check my watch. It's about 9:00. I pull out a book-A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. If anyone asks, I can say that it's interesting to see the world from a Muggle's point of view. I actually find the book fascinating.

I read for an hour, maybe more. Then I get into bed and lie there for a while, thinking. Why was I placed in Gryffindor? My sister is a Ravenclaw. My mother is the goddess of wisdom! And most importantly, I'm hiding out instead of taking on Voldemort. I don't want to be expected to be brave, to go up and fight.

I'm used to the dreams, but nothing could have prepared me for the all-too-real nightmare.

 _ **Again-I am so sorry I haven't been able to post!**_


	7. Chapter 6: Madam Pomfrey

I wake up to the sound of screaming and after a second I realize it's me. I stop, but everyone has already woken up. I'm sitting up and breathing hard, tears streaming down my face.

Juliana gets up and sees me. "Are you okay?" she asks but we both know the answer. I barely shake my head.

"What the hell is going on here?" yells Professor McGonagall, walking into the room.

"I don't know," Juliana tells her frantically. "She just woke up screaming. Maybe it was a nightmare?"

Professor McGonagall nods. "Of course. Her sister is in Ravenclaw. I'll get her. I'll take you all to Madam Pomfrey."

Almost like I'm in a dream, we walk down. I can't believe what I just saw.

But I know it's real.

We're walking down to wherever the Ravenclaws are. Beth joins us, but as we're walking down, we run into Snape. Beth has told me about him. All of us stop and Juliana and I go pale.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asks Professor McGonagall.

"I'm taking them to the hospital wing."

"All three of them?" he asks skeptically.

"Yes."

We continue on. At some point Professor McGonagall goes back to wherever she was.

We reach the hospital wing. Beth knocks on the door. It opens. Madam Pomfrey's face goes from furious to sympathetic the second she sees who it is. "Is it the dreams again?" she asks.

"Yes, but it's not me this time," Beth tells her. "It's my sister, Mia."

"Well, hurry up then!" She whisks us into the room and motions for us to sit down.

"Now, what was it?" she asks. I don't want to say. It's just too horrifying, literally my worst nightmare. "Oh, I see." She turns to Beth. "It's been so long since you've been in here. Will she react to-"

"Definitely." Beth cuts her off before she can say it. "She won't take anything."

"Of course, of course. Neither would I. But maybe…" she rummages through her drawers but comes up empty-handed.

Suddenly, Beth jumps back. "Wh-wh-what is it?" asks Juliana, startled.

"I think-I think-" Beth glances at me. I nod. I'm sending her the dream telepathically. "You're sure?" Her voice trembles. "It was our father," she tells Madam Pomfrey. "He-"

"He was killed." The pattern of tiles on the floor is suddenly very interesting. "By...by him, personally. He was a Muggle. It was the killing curse. It was quick and clean, they were in and out in less than a minute. He…" My voice breaks for a moment. "He didn't feel a thing. Just gone."

Juliana looks at me, confused. _I'll explain later,_ I communicate to her. She raises her eyebrows but doesn't say a word.

Once we are back to the privacy of the common room, we each sit in an armchair. "Spill."

"I'm a Muggle-Born," I say truthfully.

"And...?" Juliana prompts.

"I..I'm sorry, but I just can't tell you. It's not that I don't trust you!" I add quickly, seeing her face. "There's always the chance that we'll be overheard. And you would be in danger-real danger. Let's just say that it's a miracle I'm alive..."

I get up and go to my room. Juliana follows.

"You should try Occlumency, if it's the dreams that bother you."

"Thanks, Juliana, but I need the dreams."

I'm rewarded with a peaceful sleep until morning.


	8. Chapter 7: Mudbloods

**OK, I'm sure you guys are waiting for some action. I'm sure you know what happens in detention, but what's going to happen to** ** _Mia_** **in detention?**

I get up the next morning like nothing happened. My first class is Potions with Professor Slughorn, which is a relief. Beth had him last year, and she says that if I manage to be one of his favorites, it'll be a lot easier for me.

So I raise my hand every time I know the answer and speak up when he calls on me. I follow the directions exactly and volunteer to present first as well. By the end of the day, I can tell I'm getting somewhere with him.

I check my schedule. Oh, s***, I've got Muggle studies, taught my Professor Carrow, a not-quite-former Death Eater. Juliana and I have the same schedules, though, so maybe it won't be so bad? Oh, who am I kidding, it'll be torture.

I walk into the dreaded classroom. We have Muggle Studies with the Hufflepuffs, luckily not the Slytherins.

Carrow doesn't bother with attendance. "Who in here has at least one Muggle or Muggle-Born parent?"

Over half the class raises their hands.

"Good. Now, would the following people stand up: Amelia Anderson, Robert Condor, Jennifer Keer, Lawrence Rider, Alexander Wilson, and Sofia Zend," she reads from a list.

Nobody stands up. A boy in the back raises his hand. "Professor, Lawrence, Alexander, Robert, Jennifer, Sofia, and Amelia won't answer to the given names."

"Larry!" someone shouts.

"Mia!"

"Sofie!"

"Alex!"

"Jenny!"

"Bobby!"

"Fine, then. Larry, Mia, Sofie, Alex, Jenny, and Bobby, stand up. NOW," she commands so forcefully that Sofie jumps back a bit.

"Each of these classmates of yours, though the Ministry was fooled by their antics, is nothing but a filthy, disgusting Mudblood!" Professor Carrow shouts. Everybody gasps like she just said that we're killers. "And each of you has NO RIGHT to be a witch or wizard WHATSOEVER!" She bangs her hand on her desk.

"You-" she motions to me. "Come up here." Trembling, I walk up. "Now, tell us your parents' professions."

"My father is a physicist and my mother was a...," I search for a word... "She was a mythologist," I say quietly.

"And both are Muggles?"

"Y-y-yes," I whisper.

"Sit down." I hurry to my seat. One by one, she calls us up, taking careful notes. "You have all earned detention." We all gasp. Just for existing? "And you deserve it. You will come see my brother, Professor Carrow, in the Defense Against the Dark Arts room at 2:00, your second period after lunch, which should be the second half of your double Transfiguration for Gryffindors, and the second half of double Potions for Ravenclaws." She checks her watch. "Class dismissed!"

Juliana and I walk down to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Is it just a coincidence that this is my next period? Beth said that no teacher has ever taught this twice, so she knows no better than me as to what it'll be like.

I walk in and sit down next to Juliana and pray that this is a good teacher. Wait, didn't Professor Carrow say that her brother taught this class? Oh, (I mentally swear in ancient Greek, which I only do when I'm really angry. Actually, I forgot to mention, I'm not dyslexic or ADHD, although Beth is, so I don't use Greek a lot).

"Books away, wands away," Professor Carrow instructs. "Today's lesson will be demonstrational only." He has one of those evil faces, like he's a monster in disguise. Gods, what if he is? Sometimes it takes a while for me to realize... I scan the room for any gasps or looks of shock. But no, I'm in the clear for that one. "Today, you will learn about one curse." He pulls out his wand and takes a tarantula out of a jar. "I cannot demonstrate it on you students, unfortunately, but today you will be learning about one of the Unforgivable Curses. Can anyone guess which?" He smiles. Evilly.

"The Avada Kedavra!" a Slytherin boy shouts out.

"Incorrect, Brent!" calls Carrow. Thank gods.

"Th-th-the Imperius C-c-curse?" a girl named Lucy asks tentatively, as though that's the best one she can think of.  
"Nope!" Carrow laughs. He points his wand at the spider. "CRUCIO!" he yells.

The spider twitches as the spell hits it. It wiggles around as if that could stop the pain.

And then I feel it. I feel the poor creature's thoughts-mostly _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!_ -and it nearly tears me apart. I feel sick. So do ten others, apparently, because I am among the eleven students rushing out toward the hospital wing. I count four Hufflepuffs, four Ravenclaws, two Gryffindors, and then me. All the Houses are together for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Oh, dear, was it the Unforgivable Curses again?" Madam Pomfrey asks.

"Cruciatus," whispers a Hufflepuff boy.

"Of course, of course." she says. "If I could kill that teacher of yours, I certainly would. Now, pick a bed and lie down for a while. I'll write you all a note, though it won't do much good. Let's see, that would be Lucy, Mia, John, Nina, Eliana, Isaac, Jacob, Taylor, Alexa, William, and Forest?" We each nod in turn.

We all lay down for a little bit. It's sort of awkward since I think Eliana and Forest _like_ each other, judging by how red their faces are and how their beds are right next to each other.

One or two students come in while we're there, trying to forget what we saw. "Defense Against the Dark Arts?" one girl asks. Madam Pomfrey must be nodding, as I can't see her from here. "Oh, no…"

I am first to get up and head to lunch, but soon everyone follows. I sit next to Juliana. "What happened?" she asks.

"It's complicated," I say.

"Oh." We eat in silence from then on.

In Transfiguration, we learn how to turn a needle into a match and vice versa. I am the only one who can do it by 2:00. With a quick glance at my watch, I look Larry and Sofie, who puts her hand up.

"Yes, Miss Lonson?" Professor McGonagall asks.

"Er...we have to go," Sofie says timidly.

"What for?"

"Detention," Larry and I say in unison.

"Oh, dear." Professor McGonagall sighs. "All right, then. Go."

As we walk out, I look at Juliana. _I'll be fine,_ I communicate to her _._ Her eyes widen. _I can't explain right now. Soon, maybe._

I hope I'm telling the truth.


	9. Chapter 8: Detention

"Welcome," says Professor Carrow. "You will all be coming every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at the same time for the rest of the year. You all have double periods during that time, and Muggles just happen to be fast learners." He smiles wickedly. Then he turns to the older students at the desks. There are, in addition to the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, three Hufflepuffs up front, awaiting our sentences. I gasp, seeing a familiar face. Beth. Oh my gods. He's going to make us battle or something, I know it.

"You have all been learning about the Cruciatus Curse. Now is your time to practice it." OH MY GODS! They can't do this, right? RIGHT? Oh, no... "You will each get to practice. There will be nine Mudbloods, and there are twenty-seven of you. So you will get to practice once a week. First up..." Carrow checks a list. "Amelia Anderson and Vincent Crabbe."

I don't even correct him, that's how scared I am. I glance at my sister. She smiles hopefully. Then I look at Crabbe. He's too excited. He must be a Slytherin. Yep, there's the silver and green.

"CRUCIO!" he yells. The spell knocks me to the floor. I hear someone screaming and I realize it's me. Three quarters of the class gasps and ten people rush to my side to help me up, including Beth, who yells "NOOOOOOO!" like I just died and glares at the jeering Slytherins. I almost wish I did die. I try to tell them I'm okay but I can't and I know I'm not. I stagger back to my desk. And the pain... I couldn't describe it if I tried. I think being a demigod _and_ an Element makes me that much more sensitive. All I know is no one _ever_ deserves that. I can barely see the wood.

But I don't break. I don't get on my knees and beg for mercy. I'm strong. And when it's Bobby Berger's turn, I do something I've never done before. I take on the pain. And he looks at me like he knows and gets back up. "I'm fine," he insists. Thank gods he is.

And I do it again. And again. And it works every time.

Then, when Neville Longbottom is supposed to curse Sofie, he refuses.

"No."

"I'm sorry?" says Carrow, as if he misheard.

"You heard me. I won't do it! None of these children deserve it." Neville looks right at us when he says it. "Not one of them."

"Well, well..." says Carrow. Then he turns his wand on Neville and yells a curse I've never heard before and hope to never hear again. It's like he slashed Neville with a sword. Beth's friend Tiana screams. But Neville walks to his desk like nothing even happened. He mutters a spell that I can't hear and stops bleeding a little.

He picks someone else, though notably he picks no Gryffindors. I think he wants to spread out the punishment, Zeus knows he likes it.

Beth isn't picked, thank gods. I know she wouldn't even know what to do.

As I walk down to Charms-we're a little bit early, but I don't have enough time to go back to Transfiguration-Tiana finds me. "What happened there?" she asks. Tiana hadn't been picked today either.

"I was cursed."

"Yeah, I know, I can't stand Crabbe. You're lucky Malfoy left, though." She shudders. "Rumor has it he's a Death Eater. But I mean-I felt it." She looks at me. "Everyone did. Everybody felt your pain."

"WHAT?" I practically shout. "How-"

"I don't know how. I just figured I would let you know."

"Oh. Well, um, thanks."

No one else approaches me about it, but I'm starting to get worried. What if my secret gets out? If people know I can read minds-I mean, I'm like an immensely powerful Legilimens, but they would lock me up-certainly, a Muggle would. If I can send signals as well as read them without knowing, who knows how long it'll be before I'm discovered?

Charms is uneventful. We learn Wingardium Leviosa but I can't concentrate. Juliana Tries to talk to me but I can barely hear her. Eventually she gives up. We work in silence. I manage to perfect the charm but I don't care. I just can't think about anything else. What if I accidentally communicate my pain again? What if I'm caught? What if You-Know-Who gets to me? What if...

"Mia," Juliana whispers, "what did they do to you?"


	10. Chapter 9

**_Just letting you know: since my chapters are kind of short, some of them will just be called "Chapter 9," "Chapter 15," etc._**

After dinner I tell Juliana what happened. I don't leave anything out. I'm not likely to forget what happened-as a Muggle might say, I'm scarred for life, and so are most of the people there-minus the Slytherins and Professor Carrow.

"But I don't understand," Juliana says as I finish. "Why were you affected more? I overheard Sofie talking to Brian Cape about it, and she sounded fine. I mean, no offense, but you've been really shaky all night."

"You're sure you want to know?" I ask. "I just don't want to put you in any danger-well, any more than you're already in." We both laugh a little bit.

"I'm sure," she says solemnly.

"Do you know what Greek mythology is?" I ask.

"Yes. My older brother, Xander, is a Squib. He learned about it in Muggle school, and he told me all about it."

I'm surprised. "Well, then, you know what a demigod is, right?"

"That's someone with one regular parent and one parent who's a Greek god or goddess, right?"

I nod. "Yes. And I'm a demigod."

Juliana gasps. "You're a _demigod_? I thought those were all, well, myths!"

"Unfortunately, I am. My mother is-"

"Don't tell me, it's Athena, right?" she asks.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

She smiles. "Lucky guess?"

"I guess so. Anyway, Greek monsters are real too, unfortunately. You know them, but be careful."

"Why?"

"Just don't say the names. I don't think they can reach us in Hogwarts, but just in case, they're super sensitive to kids like me. I mean I'm a demigod _and_ a witch."

"But what about the..." she searches for a word.

"I don't know," I confess. "I'm still figuring it out. Well, that's not true, I know why. But if you knew, _he'd_ find you."

Juliana pales. "You-you mean-and you're _alive_?!"

"I have a sister, thank gods." I smile.

Two people burst in. "Caroline! Sadie!" Juliana cries.

"We heard you got detention," Caroline says.

"Let's talk in the common room," Sadie suggests. "David can't come up."

"Why not?" I ask, confused.

"Boys can't come up to the girls' dorms," she explains.

"Oh."

The common room is empty, thank gods. Everyone sits down. "Tell us everything," David says.

"First of all, how did you even know that I got detention?" I ask.

"My brother, Warren, is a first-year," Sadie says. "He said six people got detention."

"And my sister, Andrea, is a seventh-year, and she said the first-years have detention in seventh-year Muggle Studies," adds David.

"Oh," I say. "Well, I'm not sure you guys want to know-"

"Well, then, you _definitely_ have to tell us," Sadie interrupts.

"We're worried about you," David says.

"Okay, fine then." I tell them all the details.

"I can't believe they would _do_ that to you!" Sadie fumes.

"I can," David says grimly. "The Carrows-" he lowers his voice so that I can barely hear him. "The Carrows used to be Death Eaters."

Juliana and I gasp. "You-you mean _his_ followers? In Hogwarts? As _teachers_?" I whisper. No, no, no, no, no, this _cannot_ be possible. If Death Eaters are here he'll tell them, he knows who I am, he knows I'm here. Oh, this is bad, this is _really_ bad.

"Mia? Are you okay?" Caroline asks.

"What is it?" David asks.

"Nothing. I-I think I'd better get to bed," I say.

"Well, you can tell us when you feel like it," Sadie says, seeing right through me.

I see my father's death again in my dreams. It hurts, I won't lie. But I think we all knew it was going to happen.

These are dark times we live in.


	11. Chapter 10: The Mistaken Slytherin

The next day, nothing much happens. We have regular classes. There's no Muggle Studies or Defense Against the Dark Arts-really just Dark Arts, now-today, thank gods.

Wednesday, however, is a different story.

A boy walks up to me as I head to Charms, my first class today. "Look, I just want to apologize," he says.

I turn around, startled. "Me? What for?"

"My brother." Seeing my puzzled expression, he adds, "perhaps I should explain. My name is Ralph." He grimaces, like it's a bad name or something. "Ralph Crabbe."

"YOU'RE HIS BROTHER!" I shout. Heads turn. I lower my voice. If looks could kill, Ralph would be _long_ gone. I finally notice is green-and-black striped necktie. "But then, why are you _apologizing_?"

"Look, the Sorting Hat made a mistake. I'm not evil, I swear. Or ambitious, or whatever Slytherins are supposed to be."

"How do I know you're not lying?" I ask.

"There's an easy way to tell. You know the spell, don't you?" he asks.

I'm surprised. "Well, yeah. Do you?"

"Yeah, I'm a bit of a nerd."

A nerd? Isn't that a Muggle term?

"Fine." I whisper the spell, so I don't attract attention. His face blanks. "What are _your_ values?" I ask, choosing my words carefully.

"Kindness, intelligence, honesty, and courage," he says immediately. Then he blinks, hard, like he has dust in his eyes. "Wow, where did you learn how to do that?"

"Not important. Okay. _Wow._ Um, I'd better get to Muggle Studies." I dash off.

"Don't you know who you were just talking to?" Juliana exclaims, popping up next to me. "His brother is-"

"Relax, Ralph's cool," I explain. "And you know how mistrusting I am."

Today we have Muggle Studies with the Hufflepuffs. We "learn" about how "idiotic" electricity is. _Not to the Muggles, it isn't,_ I think.

The hour drags on and on until finally we have Charms, which zooms by all too quickly, as do lunch and the first half of double Potions with the Slytherins. We're still learning about potion ingredients and their properties. I am apparently the only student who knows what a bezoar is. Andrea Davis whispers, "Know-it-all." I shoot her one of my death glares. She's just jealous.

Detention is awful, as usual. In addition to Neville, though, a kid named Seamus refuses to curse Jenny. I close my eyes this time. Today my tormentor is Goyle. I think I'd rather have him than someone who doesn't want to do it. I wonder how long it'll be before Carrow realizes that Beth and I are sisters.

The rest of the week is all the same, and soon even detention becomes routine. even the rest of the month is okay. A lot of people give me odd glances when they see me talking to Ralph. I ignore them. I can only imagine how horrible it must be for him.

It's October when it happens. It's Friday the thirteenth. I try to tell myself that bad luck is just an old Muggle superstition. But then things start happening. Mrs. Norris, the caretaker's cat crosses in front of me. Thirteen times. Then, I walk under the ladder that Filch is using to fix a painting of several men getting drunk. Thirteen, to be exact.

It's not just bad luck.

It's a sign.

Some of the Slytherins get to go twice a week during their class. They love it. It must be Pansy Parkinson's third time by now. I still absorb the pain for the others, and I still scream louder than anyone else, but at least I know what to expect now.

Today, Larry is first, then Bobby. Both are paired with trembling, innocent Hufflepuff girls who are praying for forgiveness-I can literally hear their thoughts, that's how sorry they are-as they whisper the word that has changed the lives of everyone it's spoken to.

Carrow calls my name before announcing the seventh-year. He hesitates, just for a second, before he reads the name. Then he smirks. I feel time slow down as he continues, and on a wild impulse I check for a monster but I realize it's just my nerves.

"Anderson," he says. He can't hide his grin. "Elizabeth Anderson."

The whole room gasps, realizing who we are.

"No!"


	12. Chapter 11: Sisters

Beth stands up and I realize that the cry came from her, not me. I'm shocked. Shy, timid Beth? Maybe they do sort us too soon.

"I won't do it. You've forced us to hurt-to _torture_ innocent little kids. And anyone who thinks this is right-" She pauses to glare at Carrow. "-is soulless, shallow, and has no right to even _live_."

Carrow grins wider. "Oh dear," he says, "a new troublemaker. Who else is going to join her?" He clearly doesn't expect anyone to stand up.

Neville is first. Then Seamus. Parvati and Padma Patil. I lose track of names as everyone-minus the handful of Slytherins-stands.

"You can't tear apart a family!" cries a Hufflepuff girl.

"We won't stand for this!" adds a Ravenclaw boy.

Carrow's smirk turns to an expression of shock. Then he and the Slytherins start shouting curses everywhere. Screams fill the air and hardly anyone is left standing. Somehow, I'm not hit. Instead, I rush to people's sides as the spells subside and help them up.

Then Professor McGonagall bursts in, thank gods. Carrow and the Slytherins dash out-the smartest thing they've done all year, if you ask me. "All right, this is enough! What is going _on_ in here?!"

"Well, we were in Defense Against the Dark Arts," begins Daniel, a seventh-year Hufflepuff.

"Which doubles as detention for the first-years," adds Danielle, his twin sister.

"And Carrow Beth curse Mia-"

"And they're sisters-"

"So a couple of people objected-"

"And then everyone else stood up-"

" _STOP!_ " Professor McGonagall cries. Then she looks at Beth. "What do you mean, curse?"

Beth looks uncomfortable, so her friend Tiana answers. "We're supposed to practice the Cruciatus Curse on the first years who've earned detention. Three times a week. It's always the same people." She seems surprised that Professor McGonagall didn't know.

"And how, exactly, did you earn detention?" she asks. "At least in my class, none of you seem to be troublemakers."

"We're suspected of being Muggle-Borns," Sofie explains.

"That -"McGonagall says a word that makes the seventh-years wince. "I swear-well, in that case-I'm afraid there's really no way for me to prevent this, unfortunately, but everyone who needs to can take the rest of the day off. _Don't_ abuse it," she adds. I'm already on enough teachers' bad sides already.

Beth walks over to me. "You didn't have to do that, you know," I say.

"Yes I did," she says. "And I'm sorry I didn't do it earlier. Watching them curse people and actually being forced to do it myself felt like I was being cursed myself."

"Not many people did stand up," I remind her.

"I shouldn't have let them do that to you. We're sisters, and I'm supposed to protect you."

"You're being too hard on yourself," I tell my sister. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not," she says. "But I know you don't want to talk about it." Beth runs out to catch up with Tiana. Maybe she's right.

The period is nearly over anyway, so I wander around, then head to Herbology, which is conveniently with the Slytherins. I have to find out more about Ralph-he's hiding something, I know it.


	13. Chapter 12: Ralph's Secret

**_Really sorry for the long wait! The site was down,I think, or something like that._**

We're studying some kind of plant that reminds me of sugar snap peas. You have to break it open and collect the little beans inside, which are actually seeds that are used to grow some kind of potion ingredient that the fifth-years need. since we're working in groups, I send Professor Sprout a faint message to put me with Juliana and Ralph, like a little seed. One of those little notions that she'll barely notice until the time comes and she'll think she thought of it herself.

As we break open the pods, I try to talk to Ralph, but he pretends to be busy with his plant. I hate to resort to direct telepathy, but I have no choice. _Stop ignoring me,_ I tell him, but then he screams-in his head, don't ask me how-so loud that I lose my focus.

"What are you _doing?_ " he shouts. _Now_ heads turns. Ralph looks at Juliana. "Didn't you hear that?"

Juliana winks. "Didn't hear a thing."

 _If you can hear me, concentrate really hard on thinking, I can hear you,_ I think.

 _I can hear you,_ Ralph tells me.

 _Good._

 _This is so weird._

 _Can you keep working while we talk?_

 _Sure._

We turn to our pods. _You said you were a bit of a nerd. Isn't that a Muggle term?_

Ralph curses. _Oh, sorry. Yeah, I did._ He looks around. _Only you can understand me, right?_

 _You couldn't do this with anyone else if you wanted to,_ I assure him.

 _Fine then. You won't tell anyone else?_

 _I won't. I swear it on the river Styx. Oh,_ I curse in ancient Greek. If Ralph found out about my mom...

 _What?_ Ralph asks.

 _Nothing. Anyway, what were you saying?_

 _Alright, here goes...I'm an Element. Do you know what that means?_

 _I know what that means, I'm one myself!_ I sigh with relief. Maybe it won't be so hard with another Element around.

 _Oh, good. I'm the Fire Element. What are you?_

 _Telepathic._

 _I figured. Probably makes it easy to play Hide-and-Seek._

 _Or to do a search-and-rescue mission._

"So?" asks Juliana.

I smile. "I can't tell you."

But although I fall asleep as calm as I've ever been, the dreams come back.

First, it's just my father. I can't help feeling responsible for his death though, but if Voldemort is trying to get to me, doing something I can't prevent won't work for him.

Then, it changes. I see Voldemort himself. "You can't run forever, little girl!" he proclaims. "I _will_ get you! Mark my words, _I will hunt you down and kill you! I will-_

At this point, I scare myself awake and just lie there until morning.

The weekend is fine. Monday's detention is a free-for-all. Cruciatus curses fly from Carrow and the Slytherins' wands. I think I must get hit twelve times, but it doesn't even matter anymore.

I make it all the way to winter break without any problems. I guess even monsters can't get into Hogwarts. I'm passing all my classes. The dreams even subside.

But no nightmare could compare to what happens next.


	14. Chapter 13: The Calm before the Storm

Beth and I spend winter breaks and summer breaks at Camp Half-Blood, so we take the train to King's Cross. Beth quickly finds a seat with Tiana, and I find Juliana, David, and Sadie. "Where's Caroline?" I ask.

"She's staying at Hogwarts," Sadie explains. "Her parents were killed by Death Eaters."

"Oh. I had no idea."

There's a moment of awkward silence. "What are you doing for winter break?" David asks suddenly, breaking the tension. "We're not doing much."

"Neither are we," adds Sadie.

"We'll be in New Zealand, visiting my brother," Juliana says.

"Um, I'm not doing much," I say. I don't know who might be listening, so I'm careful not to reveal anything.

From the train station, we drive to the airport, since I'm underage. From there we fly to Long Island, New York and rent a car to drive to Camp Half-Blood. We see a few less We burst inside the cabin. "Hi, guys!" exclaims Bella, our counselor. Annabeth used to be our counselor, but she's currently out trying to find other demigods to bring them to Camp Half-Blood, along with Percy Jackson, her boyfriend. Sometimes they come back and share stories of the second Giant War, which was only a few months ago. Beth was at Hogwarts and I was at home, since we don't stay here year-round, since our father...well, he did take care of us.

"Hi, Bella," says Beth.

"How are things at Hogwarts?" Bella asks. All the kids in our cabin know about Hogwarts.

"Not so great," I admit. "The Death Eaters have taken over everything. And since none of our close relatives are witches or wizards, we're kind of public enemies."

Bella gasps. "But...I thought he was dead!"

"Not anymore," I sigh. "But we're safe here."

Just then, a satyr bursts in. "Chiron needs to see all of you."

"All of us?" Bella asks.

"All of you," he repeats.

He leads us there, looking very uncertain, like he's new and doesn't really know what to do.

"Good. Thanks, Dylan," says Chiron upon our arrival. Dylan smiles. Definitely new.

"Beth and Mia," he begins as Dylan walks out, "I've been keeping up on the wizarding world news, and things aren't looking so good right now." We nod. "It seems this Vol-"

"Don't!" Beth cries. Chiron looks surprised. "There's a curse on the name," she explains. "He'll find us here and destroy the entire camp."

Chiron nods. "All right then. Anyway, if you so desire, given your current position, you could stay here for the rest of the year."

Beth looks uncertain, and I can tell what she's thinking without even trying to read her mind. On one hand, we would be so much safer here. On the other, what about our friends?

"No," I say finally. "I know we're safer here, but, in a way, we're not. They know when someone is using magic and they'll notice if one of us panics or someone is in danger and one of us uses magic."

"I see," says Chiron, though he clearly doesn't. "And you, Beth?"

"If Mia is staying, then so am I," says my sister.

"All right then. Bella?"

"Yes?" our counselor says.

"I need triple protection on the Athena cabin. I'll let all the counselors know. Actually, we should probably triple security on the whole camp." His face clouds. "I foresee a tragic battle."

He's starting to sound like Firenze, Beth's old Divination teacher. I don't have Divination yet. Beth hates it, claiming that it's too creepy.

There's no big Christmas celebration, obviously, so the next week is, thank gods, fairly quiet. A couple of people say that they saw strange men around the camp, but there's a barrier to keep them out. And a bunch of traps. And a bunch of Ares kids ready to kill anyone suspicious.

So when we get back on the train to Hogwarts, I've let my guard down a little. I'm sitting with Sadie, David, and Juliana-no one will attack me unless I'm alone, right?

So we're talking, just about the little things, like normal, not-in-mortal-peril friends do. Sadie is telling us about her 9-year-old cousin who got ahold of his mother's wand, when there's a quick flash of black.

I make out the shape of a man, but in less than a second he's gone.

And so is Juliana.


	15. Chapter 14: My Fault

The next thing I know, I'm slumped against the wall, David and Sadie staring at me.

"Good, you're awake," says Sadie.

Then I remember what happened. Juliana. Oh, gods, if anything happens to her I'll never forgive myself. It's all my fault.

"This is all my fault," I say aloud.

"How could it possibly be your fault?" cries Sadie.

"Kids are disappearing left and right," I begin.

"Exactly!" David interjects.

"But only to make their parents behave," I continue.

"What are you saying?" Sadie asks. "It's not like she was kidnapped because of you!"

"But that's _exactly_ what it is!" I say. "They want me to turn myself in."

"Turn yourself in? What for?" David asks.

"Well, you already know I'm a Muggle-born," I explain, "But there's a little more to it. My mom is technically a Muggle, but she's also Athena. As in-"

"The Greek goddess," Sadie breathes. "But how—"

"It's not important." Then I get an idea. "Wait, hold on. I'm going to stare at the wall for a minute or so."

 _Juliana!_ I concentrate so hard on the word that I double-check to make sure no one heard. Sadie and David aren't giving me weird looks, so I'm good.

 _Juliana! Can you hear me?_

 _Mia, is that you?_ Comes the faint reply.

 _You're alive!_

 _Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are._

 _Okay, I need you to concentrate really hard on an image of everyone you see._

 _Are you sure this will work?_

 _No._

I get the picture almost immediately. I see a woman with wild curly dark hair who looks more than half insane, a man with long blond hair, and a boy with pale blond hair, who looks like he's trying to look tough or something but he's actually really uncertain. He looks about school age! I'll ask Beth tomorrow.

 _Thank you so much,_ I tell my friend. _Hang in there. We'll get you._

 _You're welcome. Please hurry._

That night, before I go to sleep, I pray that Juliana will be okay.

I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me.


	16. Chapter 15: Draco Malfoy

I wake up in the morning with a sense of dread before I even consciously remember what happened. Juliana. Oh, gods. I'm so busy worrying about her that I don't even focus on my classes. I just do, I don't even think about it. Then comes detention. Great, I think to myself. On top of everything else.

But here's the thing-twice, I get hit. The impact nearly throws me out of my chair. But other than that I don't feel a thing.

I find Beth afterwards. "Beth, I don't know if you've heard, but-"

"Of course I've heard. It's all over the school. You've talked to her?"

"More than that. She gave me an image. And there's a boy who looks about your age. Do you recognize him?" I send her the image.

Beth gasps. "This is not good!" she cries as soon as the image pops up on her brain.

"You recognize him?" I ask.

"Only a first-year wouldn't! That's Draco Malfoy! He tried to kill Dumbledore and almost succeeded, too!

"No," I say in disbelief. "That is just not possible. Not Dumbledore. No teenager could have even come close. No Hogwarts student would ever want to."

"I wish that were true."

If Draco Malfoy nearly killed Albus Dumbledore-who, based on what Beth told me, is one of the most skilled wizards of all time-then he must be more than capable of killing a first-year. I don't even want to think about it, so I head to my next class.

I'm so lost in thought trying to think of a plan that I run into this seventh-year gorilla. "Sorry," I mumble and try to continue on my way.

"Not so tough without your friend, are you?" he laughs. I ignore him. "Hey, did you hear me, runt?"

I look up. "I'm sorry, are you talking to me?" I ask.

"Yeah, you!"

"Oh." I look him right in the eye. "So you think you can walk all over me. You think you can crumble me up and tear me apart like a piece of paper."

The guy almost nods. We've attracted a crowd. They've formed a little circle around us. I guess first-years don't stand up to seventh-years every day.

"Well, guess what?" My voice rises with every word. "You're WRONG! I-"

"CRUCIO!" he shouts out of nowhere. It's so sudden that I almost don't even notice it.

Somehow I manage to duck. "Stupefy!" I yell. He leans to the right. Then his face becomes a mask of absolute terror. "She tried to kill me!" he cries.

"Well, well, well. Fighting, are we?" says a voice.

This can't be good. I slowly turn around, preparing for the worst.

"Oh, dear," says Professor Snape.


	17. Chapter 16: It's a Trap!

He grabs my arm and tries to half-drag me to his office, but the crowd isn't as eager to let him out as they were to let him in. He threatens everyone with detention, but eventually he drops my arm.

That night, after barely a bite of dinner, I go see Professor McGonagall. "Professor," I begin, "I know this is an irregular request, but what can you tell me about Draco Malfoy?"

Professor McGonagall looks taken aback. "Does this, by any chance, have to do with…"

"Yes," I say.

"Well, then, you may want to ask Professor Slughorn. He's the current head of Slytherin."

I nod. "Thank you so much." Then I dash of to Slughorn's office.

I knock on the door. "Come in," Slughorn says.

I open the door. "Professor, may I ask you something?"

"Ask away," he says brightly.

"Where do you think Draco Malfoy is right now?"

Professor Slughorn seems surprised. "Does this have to do with the—er—disappearance?" he asks.

"Yes," I say.

"Well, ordinarily I couldn't tell you, but, given the current position, he is most likely at his home, Malfoy Manor. I hear they're using it as a base."

I nearly hugged him. "Thank you so much!" I exclaim.

"No trouble at all, my dear!"

I race down to find Beth and Tiana. "I need your help," I say. "Yes it has to do with Juliana. I need an excuse to leave the grounds and someone who can Apparate."

"Okay," says Tiana, "but we do need a reason." We're all quiet for a moment, thinking.

"Oh!" says Beth, snapping her fingers. "This Saturday we're going into Hogsmeade."

"But the first-years aren't allowed," I point out. "They're bound to notice." Suddenly, an idea sparks. "The Polyjuice Potion!" I exclaim.

"But that will take weeks," Beth says. "We don't have that kind of time."

"A disillusionment charm?" Tiana suggests.

"That could work, if I hide in the shadows most of the time," I say.

"Let's do it, then," I say.

Saturday can't come soon enough, but the day arrives eventually. Everything relies on me, really. But we manage to get into the Three Broomsticks unnoticed. We blend in perfectly. "Remember," Beth says, "we all have to concentrate as hard as possible to make sure we get there. Malfoy Manor."

 _Malfoy Manor. Malfoy Manor. Malfoy Manor_. Just in case, I pray to the gods for help. And all of a sudden, I feel a jerk, and I'm being squished into a rubber tube, unable to breathe. What happened? Did something go wrong? Will I be trapped here forever?

Then we're standing in an empty cellar—almost empty, that is.

"Juliana!" I cry, hugging her. Beth, Tiana, and two other people watch us. Wait—two other people?

"Hello," says a girl with blond hair and a dreamy voice, almost like she's off in her own world. "I'm Luna Lovegood. This is Mr. Ollivander."

The old man gives us a feeble wave. "How did you get in here?" he croaks.

I am confused. "Well, we Apparated."

"But there are enchantments. You can't Apparate in or out."

Everyone seems confused. It was so easy to get in here- _too_ easy. Then I realize.

I swear in Ancient Greek. "It's a trap," I say. "They knew we would come. They lifted the enchantment. We can get in, but we can't get out."

Everyone gasps in horror.

I hear footsteps. "Someone's coming. You've got to hide," says Juliana.

Beth pulls out her wand for a Disillusionment charm, but it's too late.

The door slowly creaks open.


	18. Chapter 17

"Oh, look what we have here," someone cackles. I can't see her yet, but she sounds like a Muggle witch—the ones that you put up for Halloween and make that awful cackling sound. "Right on time!"

She steps closer and it's all I can do to keep from screaming out loud. Bellatrix Lestrange. Oh, gods. She looks half insane—probably from Azkaban. The things she's done—I've never been this close to someone capable of murder. I've never even been face-to-face with You-Know-Who, not that I would ever want to.

"Now, let's see," she continues. "Who will be the first to come up? How about...Mia!"

I shouldn't be surprised. It's me he wants. But I'm scared. I can't help it.

"Come on, show yourself!"

I step forward. "All right then. I'm not afraid of you."

She cackles again. "We'll see about that!"

She rolls up her sleeve and touches a spot on her left arm. Then she pulls out her wand and pulls me up the stairs by magic. Just in case I tried to resist, I guess.

Then she ties me to a chair by magic and takes by wand. I see two other faces. One is Draco Malfoy. the other is a guy who looks a little bit like a rat. I get this strong sense that they shouldn't be here—like they could have been good. But they aren't, and that's what's important.

But I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. When no one is looking, I think, _Diffindo,_ and the ropes break. But I still don't know how to get out.

Just then, this…creature…appears in front of me! He grabs my hand without saying a word, and before I can protest, he's taken me into Hogwarts. The library, to be exact. Then he disappears, and this time, when he reappears, Juliana, Beth, and Tiana are with him.

"What—how—thank you!" Beth stutters.

But he's faded out.

"That was a House-Elf," says Tiana, amazed.

"But how could he take us here? You can't get into Hogwarts by Apparating!" I whisper.

"Elf's magic is different from wizard's magic," Beth explains. "If his master told him to take us to Hogwarts, than nothing else matters except for doing that."

"SHH!" says Madam Pince, who has just entered the room. "You'd better get to dinner soon or you'll miss it."

I check my watch. She's right. It's only been a few hours—it feels so much longer! "Let's go then."

"I can't thank you enough," says Juliana as we walk. "You saved my life. But..." she pauses, hesitant.

"Let me guess," I say, "you want to know why you were kidnapped."

"Well, yeah," she says, "if that's okay."

"It's fine," I assure her, "but I'll tell you in our dormitory. I don't want anyone overhearing."

So after dinner I tell her.

"I'm and Element," I say. "An Element is a person who has a certain power, but it's completely focused on one thing-for example, I'm a telepathic Element. No two Elements have the same power."

"Is that why he affects you so much?" Juliana asks. I know she means You-Know-Who.

"Yes and no. He wants our power," I explain. "Even a skilled Legilimens can't do what I can do. And the other Elements-well, there was one girl, Amber. Elements are wizards and demigods as well. But we're normal people, otherwise.

"Amber was the Life Element. She went to Beauxbatons, that all-girls French school. I knew her well, although we never met in person. Amber could control when people lived and died. If she wanted someone to die or live, the Fates-you know who those are, right?" I ask.

"Yes," says Juliana.

"Good. Well, the Fates would alter the thread according to what Amber wanted. She tried to hide her ability, but she was just too powerful. You-know-who found her. He kidnapped her, tried to make her do what he wanted her to do, so he and his Death Eaters would live forever and Harry Potter would die. But Amber wouldn't. He knew she wasn't going to help him, so...he killed her."

"But why does he want you?" Juliana asks.

"Well, I'm the only one around here that he knows about. And the only one I know about."

"But then, how do you know if you're an Element?"

"You just do," I say. "You're born with the knowledge that you're an Element. And I only know about Amber because we were the only two females, don't ask me why."

It's silent for a while. "We should go to bed," Juliana says finally.

So we do. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I feel better then I have in a long, long time. In May, when things start to get really bad, Juliana and I hide in this place that's basically run by Neville Longbottom. There are beds, a decent bathroom, and even a passage to Hogsmeade for food. We can keep track of Harry Potter through this radio station called Potterwatch-although I doubt that he actually broke into Gringotts and escaped on a dragon.

And then Harry Potter _actually shows up!_ Everyone else is excited, but I'm starting to get worried. He asks about the lost diadem of Ravenclaw and Luna Lovegood-who also just arrived-take him to, presumable, Ravenclaw Tower. And somehow everyone ends up in the Great Hall-I'm not really paying attention, because a thought just struck me.

If Harry Potter is here, Voldemort must be on his way.


	19. Chapter 18: Betrayal

Sure enough, I hear a voice booming through the hall. At first I'm not sure if I just imagined it, but then I see everyone screaming in terror.

"I know you are preparing to fight," You-Know-Who's voice booms, somehow over the screams. "Your efforts are futile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers at Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood.

"Give me Harry Potter, and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you will be rewarded.

"You have until midnight."

I've heard of loud silence, but this was the first time I'd ever experienced it. Then a Slytherin girl shouts, "But he's there! Potter's _there!_ Someone grab him!"

Professor McGonagall asks the Slytherin house to leave the hall with Filch-I'm glad they're gone. But I need a plan. Voldemort is keeping his plans for me secret, even from his Death Eaters.

I tune back in to what she's saying. Pretty much the entire Gryffindor house-pardon the exaggeration-wants to stay and fight You-Know-Who, so McGonagall has to find the kids who are under age to send to safety. Somehow, though, I manage to sneak through.

I'm in the tower with all of the fighters, trying to think of a way to stop him. Then, all of a sudden, everyone is rushing downstairs, and I'm swept along with them. It's complete chaos down there, I can barely hear myself think.

Suddenly, a voice calls out, "Mia! Can you hear me?"

I look around for the source and realize that it's only in my mind. _Ralph! Where are you?_

 _He's got me. I dozed off and got dragged out with the fighters, and someone swooped down and grabbed me! I'm in some kind of passage underground. But I have a photographic memory._

 _I'll come get you. How do I get there?_ I'm worried about Ralph—he's an Element, like me. A fire Element could be really useful to you-Know-Who.

 _You know the Whomping Willow?_

 _Yeah._

 _Go there. There's a knot in the wood. Tap it with a stick. A passageway will open. Follow—AAAAHHHH!_

Oh, gods, this must be really bad if Ralph can't even finish his thought.

I find the Whomping Willow, and, sure enough, a passageway opens. I follow it. There is no one in sight except for Ralph, dangling in the air as if by a string, his eyes closed. "Ralph," I whisper. "Are you all right?"

His eyes open and he falls gracefully to the ground. "Oh, I'm better than all right," he says, grinning evilly. "It's _yourself_ you should be worried about."

I think I know what's happening in the back of my mind but I don't want to accept it. "What-what do you mean?" I whisper, trying to pull off the scared-little-girl act, just in case. It never fails.

"Drop the act. You know exactly what I mean." Okay, scratch that, it fails. He sees right through me. "Don't you see? I was never on your side."

"But…but what about the truth spell?" I barely whisper.

"Any Element can throw that off, I thought you'd know. Not as smart as you claim to be, yeah? I was alone, and weak…and then the Dark Lord showed me—"

"Stop!" I cry. "You could have been different."

"I'm sorry?" he says.

"You could have been good," I say desperately. "You didn't have to do this. It's not too late. Come on, you're a really smart kid. I know you could have been different."

But it is too late. His eyes have gone cold…this isn't the person I thought I knew.

"Excellent job, Crabbe," says a voice that makes my blood run cold. The voice that haunts my dreams at night. The voice that uttered the spell that killed my father.

"Bring me Bellatrix Lestrange," he says to Ralph. Then to me, "Crucio! Stupefy!"

When I wake up, I'm tied to a chair. A face stares down at me like a mad scientist studying her experiment. "Well, well," says Bellatrix Lestrange. "Woken from our nap, have we?" Then she shouts, "She's awake!"

"Very good. You may go." She exits, leaving me alone with _him._

I try to move something but I can't. "You'll never get away with this," I say.

"Oh, but I already have!" he says. We could have been in a Muggle superhero movie.

"My friends will come for me."

"Oh, will they?" He pulls open a curtain, revealing Beth, Juliana, and Tiana lying on the floor. Dead, or just stunned…?

I laugh out loud. "You've never heard of a cliché before, have you?" And they all disappear—it was only a boggart! "You'll have to do better than that to beat me!"

He smiles. "Oh, I've got more."

Oh, no, nothing good can possibly happen when You-Know-Who smiles.


	20. Chapter 19: Hero

When I wake up, I'm tied to a chair. A face stares down at me like a mad scientist studying her experiment. "Well, well," says Bellatrix Lestrange. "Woken from our nap, have we?" Then she shouts, "She's awake!"

"Very good. You may go." She exits, leaving me alone with _him._

I try to move something but I can't. "You'll never get away with this," I say.

"Oh, but I already have!" he says. We could have been in a Muggle superhero movie.

"My friends will come for me."

"Oh, will they?" He pulls open a curtain, revealing Beth, Juliana, and Tiana lying on the floor. Dead, or just stunned…?

I laugh out loud. "You've never heard of a cliché before, have you?" And they all disappear—it was only a boggart! "You'll have to do better than that to beat me!"

He smiles. "Oh, I've got more."

Oh, no, nothing good can possibly happen when You-Know-Who smiles.

"First," he says, "I will torture you—"

"By boring me to death with your stupid monologues?" I ask. "It's like we're in a Muggle movie." I honestly don't know why I'm not sobbing and crumbling to the ground like he clearly wants me to. I might be going crazy. Do crazy people know that they're crazy?

"You seem to find your torture amusing," he says. I do. At least, I do right now. And then he shouts a spell that I've never heard before. But if sheer pain could kill I would be long, long, _long_ gone. I try to scream but my mouth may as well be glued shut and that makes it all that much worse. I wait to slip into unconsciousness or even death but it doesn't happen. I try to do something- _anything_ -but I might as well have a full Body-Bind curse on me. I can't see, I can't hear, I can't think straight, to myself or to anyone else. I can't...I can't …and as soon as it fades away I hear a muffled yell and see a blurry blue light headed straight toward my chest and it starts all over again and physically it's not doing anything but I feel like I'm on fire and all I see is Amber dying again and again and how I should have saved her and I wish it would just be over, I honestly wish I would…

And then, after two times it's over. He laughs at the pain that he can surely see in my eyes. I know he's powerful, but I never would have guessed he could do that. Even a moment of that is worse than death.

"A curse of my own invention," he says. He grins. "Only effective on Elements. Would you like some more?"

"N-n-no," I whimper. "Please..." There's nothing I can do anymore. I'm not a hero anymore. The ropes disappear but I don't even try to get out. There's no point anymore. I never would have guessed...it would be impossible to explain to anyone.

"Good. Now, you are going to do exactly as I say when I say it." I barely nod. I'm ashamed of myself. I'm a coward. Maybe the Sorting Hat was wrong about me.

Then I hear a noise, so faint I think I might have imagined it. Then three people burst in. "Mia!" Beth exclaims. Juliana and Tiana are right behind.

"You're too late," he snarls. "Avada Kedavra!" He points his wand at Juliana.

"No!" I yell. Seeing Beth, Tiana, and Juliana in danger makes me snap out of what I realize the spell was causing. I don't even know what I'm doing, I just do it.

I jump in front of Juliana and the green light sails forward almost in slow motion...

Right...

Into...

Me.


	21. Chapter 20: Greek Goddesses and Star War

I think I'm dead.

I'm not sure. I might be, though. I hope not. I would have liked to say good-bye.

I am surrounded by white. My feet are standing on something solid that I can't see. I look down to see myself wearing the same thing I wore before everything happened—my Gryffindor robes, oddly enough. Which begs the same question: Am I dead?

"I don't think so." I whip around, startled, to see Athena. My mother.

I don't know what to do. On one hand, she's my mom and a Greek goddess. On the other, I was facing You-Know-Who just moments ago. Where was she then?

"Just say the _name,_ " my mom says. "At this point it won't do you any harm."

"At this point?" I repeat.

"Well, Harry Potter is finishing him off as we speak."

I'm somewhat relieved. "What about the others?" I ask, suddenly concerned.

She smiles sadly. "You'll have to see that for yourself. Now, as for you-I'm not going to tell you, it'll just make it worse," she adds, seeing my expression. "Anyway, you have three options. You could die. You would go on to the Underworld. I'm sure you would get Elysium. You could also become a ghost. But there's not much of a point in that because of your third option."

"Third option?" I repeat. I'm dead-or, at least, I will be soon, right?

"Yes," my mom continues. "You have a third option. You could live. Go back to everyone and everything you knew before."

"What?" I exclaim, excited, confused, and suspicious at the same time. "I was hit by the Avada Kedavra. The Killing Curse. Are you saying I survived?"

"Yes, I am," she says. "Do you remember the curse he used to torture you?"

"Unfortunately," I say bitterly. Just remembering it makes me want to scream.

"Well, that was more than a curse. A moment of something like that is-"

"Worse than death," I finish.

"Well, to do something so heartless, so soulless, so cruel, you would have to have no soul, which Voldemort doesn't. But that's a conversation for another time," she adds hastily, seeing my puzzled expression. "Anyway, the victim can't be killed by the person who sent the curse. So, what do you choose? I would suggest living. You basically saved the world. To cast that curse has a price-your life. The Fates snip the thread automatically. Otherwise, Voldemort would be invincible. But history has been rewritten-if only slightly-to make sure there is a reasonable...well...reason for his death."

"Well, then, I'd like to live!" I decide, surprised by my good luck.

"Great," says my mom, beginning to fade. "You will end up in the same place you were in before, about five minutes later. Good luck!"

And then I'm back in real life. Someone is screaming, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" It sounds like Beth. I open my eyes and stand up, to general astonishment.

"What-how-" Voldemort sputters, at loss for words. "Well, never mind. I can still kill you all!"

"No, you can't" I say. "And you're about to die. Sorry. But not really."

I pull out my wand. I have never hated anyone so much in my life. He thinks he can kill me and all my friends and take over the world? Never gonna happen.

He can see the loathing in my eyes, and he smiles. I barely notice. "This is where it ends." My hands don't even tremble. I'm going to kill him once and for all. Beth, Juliana, and Tiana have just realized what I'm about to do. I can hear their thoughts. This is it. This. Is. It.

"Avada-" I begin to yell, but Beth tackles me to the ground.

"Are you insane?!" she screams. "Haven't you ever seen Star Wars? It's a Muggle thing," she adds, killing the mood.

"What-" I realize what must have happened. I lost control and let my anger get the best of me. And I almost went evil all while I was trying to protect my friends.

Exhausted by the confusion, I pass out.

 ** _I know I a totally copying the scene with Harry and Dumbledore in book 7 but I couldn't just kill Mia, could I? Percy Jackson will been in an upcoming chapter, don't worry. :)_**


	22. Chapter 21: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I wake up in...the Hospital Wing? I sit up, remembering what happened. I didn't actually pass out...at least, not then. I was running to safety in the Great Hall, now that I knew Voldemort was as good as dead, with Beth, Juliana, and Tiana, when I got hit with a Stunning Spell. Then I woke up and got hit with another. And so on.

Beth walks in. "Good, you're awake." Tiana comes in, too, even though I barely know her.

"Where's Juliana?" I ask.

Beth and Tiana look uncomfortable and I notice how red their eyes are. "Mia," Beth begins. "I am going to try to explain it to you in a way that will not make you throw a tantrum. We were heading back to the Great Hall. At that point, you had been Stunned about fifteen times and I was carrying you over my shoulder-I think Voldemort told the Death Eaters to Stun you. It's a Danacle you're even awake right now. Anyway: Harry Potter had just died—at least, that's what everyone thought—and Voldemort was displaying his body. Whole evil speech that I don't need to get into. Everyone was heading over to get a good look, and the Death Eaters were still out and about. One of them—he was tiny. He looked like he could be your age. And he pulled out his wand. He was aiming for you, but Juliana stepped in front of him, and…"

"Oh," I say. I can't think of anything else to say. Juliana…dead. And it's all because of me. It must have been Ralph who did it. Voldemort in miniature—yet somehow, he's worse. I shudder and hope he'll be sent to Azkaban.

Tears are streaming down my face. I try to communicate with Juliana, in some sort of desperate hope. No such luck. I wonder where she is. Elysium, I hope. She deserves it. I would tell Hades that, but I think he can read my mind anyway. Who knows anything about Hades?!

Beth and Tiana stay with me. Finally, Tiana says, "Let's go to the Great Hall. I think dinner is starting." No one is hungry, but we go anyway. It feels good to just talk about something else. I actually find out that Dana, a Gryffindor second-year, is a demigod, although she doesn't know it yet. She's a Muggle-Born as well—I think they must have let the Hogwarts kids off the hook for "stealing magic," although I can't imagine why. Her mother died in the same way as my father—she read about it in the _Prophet_ , though, which can't have made it any better—and her father "ran away." She has nowhere else to go, so I offer to take her with us to Camp Half-Blood.

The next day, we leave for Camp Half-Blood. Beth drives us to the airport—we've decided to avoid magic as much as possible. It's risky, especially since we don't know who Dana's dad is, but we're fine.

"Hello," Chiron says to us as we arrive. Then he addresses Tiana and Dana. "I don't believe we've met?"

"I'm Tiana, a friend of Beth's," says Tiana.

"And I'm Dana. I'm just here because Mia said to come," adds Dana.

"Wonderful," says Chiron. The chances of a demigod stumbling on another demigod are beyond slim. "All right, Dana, Beth can show you to your cabin. Tiana—Alex will show you where to go." A boy who I hadn't noticed until now waved. Then Chiron adds, "Mia, could you stay here for a moment?"

"Of course," I reply.

"Mia," Chiron begins, "I know you've had a… _busy_ …week, but…I need you to go on a quest. Not to lead one. I know this is highly unusual—usually the leader would choose who went—but these are different circumstances. No prophecy this time, either."

That's odd. I don't think there's ever been a quest without a prophecy. "What, exactly, would I be doing?" I ask.

"Well, Apollo has been kidnapped."

Well, that can't be good. "By whom?" I ask.

"Nyx."

The god of the sun, kidnapped by night. It makes sense. "I'd better tell Beth and Tiana."

He smiles. "Go right ahead."

I burst into the Athena cabin. "Beth, Tiana, can I talk to you?"

They follow me outside. "I'm going on a quest," I say. "Apollo's been kidnapped. It's highly unusual, but there's no prophecy or anything this time. At least, that's what Chiron told me," I add.

Beth nods. "I wonder who else is going."

Tara (our counselor unless Annabeth is here) bursts out into the hall. "I heard about the quest," she says. "Congrats. By the way, it's going to be Percy and this new Apollo kid, Max, on the quest with you. Percy's leading."

Great, just what I need in my life—teenage boys who act younger than me.

Beth pretends to be excited. "You get to be with Percy Jackson?! That's so cool!"

I shrug. "I'll be the little kid sitting out on the sidelines until someone says, 'Gee, I wonder what that monster is thinking?' I also don't really feel like risking my life again."

Beth nods. "I don't really want you go, actually. You've been in enough danger already. But what choice do you have?"

None, unfortunately.


	23. Chapter 22: The Quest

I can barely sleep. I lie awake, staring at the ceiling. Something seems off about the whole thing. No prophecy? I wonder if something happened to Rachel, our new Oracle. And something about Chiron seemed off. It's probably too late to do anything, though.

We leave at the crack of dawn, each with a backpack full of nectar, ambrosia, water, and anything else we thought would be useful, and, after walking a few miles to the nearest road, get a taxi and tell the driver to take us to the nearest bus station. No one even tries to make conversation. Max must be about thirteen. Percy is seventeen. Both of them look uncomfortable.

"What's wrong?" asks the driver. "You haven't said a word this whole time."

As he turns around, I catch a flicker of something across his face. I figure it's just my nerves, but just in case, I read his mind.

 _I hope this works. If I don't get these kids there, the boss will kill me! Mm…too bad he won't let me eat them himself…_

I try not to panic. As the driver stops at a red light, I slam my door open. "We need to get out of here."

"What?" Percy and Max ask at the same time.

"No time to explain. Come on!" I yell, running out. Reluctantly, they follow me.

There's nowhere to go and the driver is following us. Then I see some kind of shopping center not too far away. We can lose ourselves in the crowd, although he won't hesitate to kill us if he finds us, because of the Mist.

Finally we get there. I lead them into the nearest "Party Pop," which is filled with people shopping for 4th of July decorations.

"What's going on?" Max asks.

"That guy was a monster. Literally."

"How did you even know?" Percy asks.

"I can read minds, basically. Only conscious thoughts." I scan for the driver. "I think we've lost him."

"We're not far from a bus stop," says Percy. "We're supposed to go to DC."

"Let's go then," says Max.

We walk to the bus stop. Yet, despite almost dying together, things are as awkward as they were in the taxi. I scan the minds of every passenger on the bus—which, by some miracle, is heading to DC anyway—and I find nothing interesting.

The loudspeaker crackles to life: "Attention all passengers, we will arrive at Washington DC in about ten minutes."

Thank gods. We all grab our bags as get off as soon as the doors open. "Have a nice day," the driver says. That's exactly what's going through his mind, fortunately.

"Where are we going?" asks Max.

"Well, technically Nyx lives in Tartarus, but she came up here too kidnap Apollo," Percy explains. "She's in the Washington Monument. There's this hidden room that one of you supposedly has the key to." He sounds a little bit unsure.

"Is this it?" Max asks, pulling a button that looked like one of those fancy suns people use as tattoos.

"I don't know," Percy replies. "Chiron said he didn't really know."

"Okay, if no one else is going to say it, I will," I say. "There's something weird about this whole quest."

"Yeah, there is," says Percy. "Wow, you're like a mind-reader! Oh, wait, you _are_ a mind-reader, aren't you. Anyway, yeah, the whole thing about the prophecy is kind of weird."

"I wonder if something happened to Rachel." Max suggests.

"Could be, but then, wouldn't this quest be about saving her?" I counter.

"Good point," says Percy. "But I don't think we should quit. We need to at least find out what this is."

"Yeah," Max agrees. "What do you think, Mia?"

"I definitely want to check it out," I say.

Famous last words.


	24. Chapter 23: Shadow

We climb up so many flights of stairs that I lose count. We would have taken the elevator, but it was out of order. "Here we are," Max pants as we stop at a door. "Top floor." There is some kind of scanner, probably for an ID card of a fingerprint. Max scans his sun-thingy, and a door opens—in the ceiling.

"Anybody have a ladder?" Percy asks.

"Nope," I say, grinning. "But watch this." I pull out my wand, and without a word from me, a rope ladder hangs from the ceiling.

Max and Percy stare. "How did you—" Percy begins.

"Magic," I say. I climb up and open the trapdoor. "Whoa…"

"What?" Max asks.

"Nothing," I say, "it's just—this is enormous! Way bigger than the actual Washington Monument. Some kind of Undetectable Enlargement charm—it's a wizard thing."

Percy and Max follow me up. "Yeah, this room is _huge_ ," adds Percy.

" _I've been waiting!"_ a voice booms.

Everyone jumps back. I search for the source of the voice.

Apollo appears in front of us. "Relax, it's just me," he says. "Thanks for coming. That pin of yours is the key to this room, Max. I don't even know how I got here—I just woke up here—"

"Wait," I say. "Something weird is going on here."

Percy frowns. "Yeah, what happened to your usual haiku?"

Apollo smiles. "Of course:

 _Desert winds do blow,_

 _Softly across Egypt far._

 _Hot and sandy storms."_

"That was great, Dad!" exclaims Max. "Well, of course it was, you're the god of poetry—anyway, let's go!"

"Max, have you ever actually _met_ your dad?" Percy asks.

"Of course not," Max replies. "Why?"

"Because that _was_ good," Percy tells Max. "But I probably know your dad better than you do, and he would never write a poem about desert winds."

I feel a sudden chill. He's probably right—he must have been on tons of quests. So that can't be Apollo—or if it is, something's really wrong with him. But if it isn't Apollo, who is it?

"Apollo" snarls. Definitely not good. Whoever it is, his voice becomes like the one we'd heard when we first walked in. " _You think you have outsmarted me? Think you have weakened me by seeing through me disguise? Well I have planned for this. And now you are trapped! Mwahahahahahahaha!"_

He becomes nothing but shadow. That's what he is-simply shadow. " _I am the forgotten Shadow!"_ he booms. _  
_"Isn't there already-" Percy begins.

" _I don't know! I was only born a thousand years ago! And I am simply_ "—he pauses for dramatic effect—" _Shadow! And now I will rule the world! But first…"_ He looks at us maliciously. Oh, no.

Two trapdoors, which no one had even seen before, open—one underneath Percy, one underneath Max. "HEY!" they yell.

"You forgot someone," I say nervously. Because something tells me he didn't.

" _Oh, did I?_ " he asks, playing along. " _Shadow never forgets. Shadow never leaves you._ "

He pulls out a wand—oh, gods, I'm no match for a wizard _and_ a Greek god, or whatever he is. This is it. I've faced the Avada Kedavra once before, but Shadow no doubt knows about the cursed curse. And then he can kill me.

" _Now, let's see_ ," he says. " _Shall I torture you first, or just kill you? Hmm…decisions, decisions…_ " Oh, very clever, Shadow. Tantalizing me by making me wait. Trust me, it's working.

"Let us out!" Percy and Max yell.

" _SHUT UP!"_ yells Shadow.

I pull out my own wand and point it at the trapdoor, shouting out every spell I know that I think will help, but it's useless. Nothing works. "It's enchanted," I mutter. Fantastic—just like everything in this room.

Then, an idea strikes me. _Okay, if you can hear me, scream as loud as you possibly can,_ I tell Percy and Max.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Well, that worked.

 _Wait, what the heck?_ That's from Max.

 _I'll explain later._

 _Wait, what the heck?_ That's from Max.

 _I'll explain later. Do any of you have any magical powers or anything?_

 _Well, duh, my dad is Poseidon. I can control water. And yes, I am willing to explode the Washington Monument. I'll just add it to the list of buildings I've exploded._

 _Great. Can you?_

 _You mean right now?_

 _Yeah._

 _OK, sure. Why not?_

 _Great._

"…I will take you to my lair, where I will decide whether to kill you or keep you to help me," Shadow is saying.

It's not very difficult to act incredibly afraid of this monster. "Wha—what do you mean, k-k-keep me?" I ask, trembling.

"Why, to use you of course. Elements are incredibly valuable, you know." I do know. "Perhaps sell you."

My heart stops—even though I have a plan, that guy is _morbid_! "Sell me," I repeat. "Like a—"

"Slave, yes, but what can you do?" He looks at me like he's got me. And _that's_ my cue:

"I can do this," I say. _GO!_ I think to Percy.

Then there's a large _BOOM!_ as Percy and Max appear in front of me. They appear to be surfing on water without a board, I guess is the best way to describe it. "Come on!" Max says, smiling, as he reaches out his hand to pull me on.

The water surges forward as I—I'm embarrassed to admit—am forced to cling to Max to avoid falling off and drowning. Shadow, caught off guard, is completely submerged. He isn't saying anything, but I can hear his thoughts— _NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE LAST OF SHADOW! I COULD HAVE RULED THE WORLD IF NOT FOR YOU THREE, YOU—_ (this word is in Ancient Greek and I am not providing the translation)— _!_

"Bye, Shadow!" says Max. "Enjoy Tartarus! Oh—sorry," he adds quickly to Percy.

The only part of the Washington Monument that was destroyed was that secret room, so we head down the stairs.

"So, if the whole mission was a trick," Percy starts to ask.

"Why did they want us to come up here?" Max finishes.

"Oh. That." I hoped we wouldn't come to this, but it was inevitable. Unless I died. And I'd rather answer an awkward question than die. Obviously.

 _Does this answer your question?_ I ask.

"Wha— _ohhhhhhhhhhhhh_ " says Max. "That's cool. And freaky."

"Yeah, just like THIS!" Percy pulls out his pen/sword. I scream and duck.

"What—was—THAT?" I shriek.

Percy looks very uncomfortable. "Um, I had to check, sorry. Chiron—if that's even who it was—sent us on this quest, and he might have sent you, too."

"No, Chiron didn't know it was a trick," I say. "I read his mind." (I know, I know, I didn't mention it earlier. I figured you would figure that I'd done it—you don't think I'm _that_ stupid, do you?) "And don't you have some truth serum or something?"

"I do, actually," says Max. "It's not painful, don't worry. Here."

I pull out my wand and do a quick mental truth spell without anyone noticing, then communicate to Max, _Do you want to harm me or Percy in any way?_

 _No. Hey…you truth-spelled me!_

 _I had to check, Max!_

I don't trust people anymore. I trusted Ralph, and look where that got me—Juliana dead, and I almost am, too.


	25. Epilogue

For a while I never thought I'd live to see this day, but here I am. King's Cross station, with my family.

"Aunt Mia," Alexa tugs on my sleeve. "We're going. Don't you want to say goodbye?"  
"Of course, Alexa," I say, smiling. It's Alexa's first year at Hogwarts, and she's nervous, but not as nervous as her twin, Mark.

Mark is with his father, Jon. "Hey, Jon," I say. "Hi, Mark." Jon is a Ravenclaw, one year younger than Beth. They were dating in their seventh year, but I never knew about it. Now they have twins.

Juliana giggling at something Alexa said. Ralph runs up to Max and me. "Mommy, Daddy, look!" He proudly shows off a rock he found. At three, everything fascinates him. Juliana, who goes by Juli and is two years older, is much more serious, and she practically idolizes Alexa.

"Mommy," she says, "when can I go on the train?"

"Not yet," I tell her. "You have to go to school and camp first." Some genius demi-wizard invented a potion so that anyone who drinks it can't be smelled by monsters, but people still go to Camp Half-Blood to bond with other demigods. Kids never realize how lucky they are until their luck runs out. Juli runs over to Alexa, who smiles and gives her a hug.

Lizzie, my oldest, looks up at me. She's eleven.

I found Lizzie shivering in the cold outside our front door one day a few years ago, armed with a baseball bat. She was seven, alone, and scared, being a demigod and a witch. Her father is Zeus and her mother threw her out. I took her in.

"Mia," Lizzie says, "I'm scared." Many times I have tried to get her to call me "Mom," but she doesn't want to, and there's no point in reasoning with and eleven-year-old.

"What are you scared of?" I ask.

"The other kids. All the bad guys who are in Azkaban now went to Hogwarts once, too, and there are going to be kids like them. And there'll be monsters there, I know it."

"Let me tell you something," I say. "Monsters won't go after witches and wizards, because they're no match for magic. As for the kids…" I point to Draco Malfoy. "Anyone with _that_ expression on his face is going to be mean, nasty, and not worth your time. Don't let him get to you. And don't be fooled by a Slytherin. The Sorting Hat is never wrong."  
"How do you know?" Lizzie asks.

I look at my son, Ralph. The original Ralph Crabbe is in Azkaban, and he will be until he dies. "I knew Ralph Crabbe. Your brother was named after him. I trusted him and he killed Juliana."

There's silence as I remember. It was the day I stopped trusting people.

After what seems like an hour, Lizzie nods. Then, as if nothing happened, she says, "Well, I'm going. Bye, Mia! Bye, Max!"

"Bye, Lizzie!" Max and I hug her and she's off, and I realize something.

She's a lot like me.

 _ **Well, this is the end! I had fun writing this and I hope you guys had fun reading.**_


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